Ronald Koeman made a couple of key changes to his Barcelona team to face Alaves at Camp Nou in La Liga this Saturday evening. Teenager Ilaix Moriba and Riqui Puig both came into the starting lineup, the former making his first league start.
Barça XI#BarcaAlavés
💪🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/jtv151soZv— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 13, 2021
The Dutchman undoubtedly has an eye on Tuesday’s clash in the last 16 of the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain with his selection, but Barcelona would be fools to look beyond Alaves this evening. They need to win to reclaim third spot having been leapfrogged by Sevilla earlier in the day, and currently sit eleven points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid.
👥 Este es el 𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 elegido por el 'Pitu' Abelardo para enfrentarnos al @FCBarcelona_es 👇#BarçaAlavés #GoazenGlorioso 🦊 pic.twitter.com/zS3QtII7Sc
— Deportivo Alavés (@Alaves) February 13, 2021
Likewise, Alaves will be hoping to secure the points to pull themselves away from the relegation zone. Remarkably given the congested nature of the table this season, one victory could see them go from 16th, where they are now, to as high as eleventh depending on the number of goals they score.